Trustees Distinguished Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Director of the Center for the Study of Diversity at the University of Delaware
About
Dr. Jones is Trustees Distinguished Professor of psychological and brain sciences and director of the Center for the Study of Diversity at the University of Delaware, and former executive director for public interest and director of the Minority Fellowship Program at the American Psychological Association. Dr. Jones earned a BA from Oberlin College, an MA from Temple University, and his PhD in social psychology from Yale University. He was been on the faculty of the psychology and social relations department at Harvard University, and has taught in the psychology department at Howard University. He published the first edition of Prejudice and Racism in 1972, and the second edition in 1997. His most recent book, The Psychology of Diversity: Beyond Prejudice and Racism, with Jack Dovidio and Deborah Vietze, was published in 2014. In 1973, Dr. Jones spent a year in Trinidad & Tobago on a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship studying Calypso humor. This work led to the development of the TRIOS model of the psychology of African American culture. Dr. Jones is a social psychologist and is past-president of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. He was awarded the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race, the 2001 Kurt Lewin Award and the 2009 Distinguished Service Award by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, the 2007 Distinguished Psychologist Award by the Association of Black Psychologists, and the 2011 Lifetime Contribution to Psychology award from the American Psychological Association.
Current Work:
1) Developing a model of diversity competence and analyzing its psychological and behavioral characteristics and implications for social interaction and engagement. 2) Conducting a longitudinal study (1st to 4th year of college) of the relationship of attitudes about and experiences with diversity and academic success and psychological well-being. 3) Conducting climate survey of undergraduate and graduate students with a focus on their diversity attitudes and experiences and how they relate to their sense of belonging, and engagement with the university.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Diversity, social identity, culture, race, history